Mazar-eSharif, largely spared of fighting for 18 years during the Soviet invasion and subsequent Afghan civil war, fell to the Taliban in 1997 when the rebels' ethnic-Uzbek champion, Gen. Abdurrashid Dostum, was betrayed by his deputy.

In Mazar-eSharif, which for centuries has been the center for ethnic Uzbeks in Afghanistan, residents have reported "earth-shaking unlike anything they had ever seen before" as a result of the U.S. bombing, according to an Afghan refugee in Uzbekistan who has been in regular contact with relatives in the city.

Although the alliance forces are weak and outnumbered and their prospects for victory are uncertain, success in Mazar-eSharif might enable the rebels to push through to the Uzbekistan border and reopen supply lines that have been closed since 1998.

The fall of Mazar-eSharif may persuade Afghan warlords, who have a long history of switching to the winning side, to foresee the war's outcome and actively throw their support behind the Northern Alliance and fellow opposition forces.

Situated about 100 miles from the Uzbekistan border, Mazar-eSharif is hardly a central city in Afghanistan, nor is it the country's most populated or industrialized.

In the United States, the capture of Mazar-eSharif may quell domestic concerns of a perceived lack of progress on the military front.

Their testimonies about the events in Mazar-i Sharif from August 8 through early September are consistent in the depiction of the patterns of attack by the advancing Taliban troops, the systematic nature of the search operations, the sorting of prisoners at the jail, and the transport of prisoners.

The incident, which occurred in Mazar-i Sharif, a city in northern Afghanistan, represents one of the single worst examples of civilian killings in Afghanistan's twenty-year war where At least 8000 Hazaras were singled out and massacred by the Taliban regime.

The refugees from Mazar-i Sharif are scattered throughout Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Mazar-eSharif, the second largest city in Afghanistan, is the cultural, economic, religious and strategic center of northern Afghanistan.

Although Mazar-eSharif had been spared the shelling that devastated other major cities in Afghanistan, thousands died as the Taliban and factions of the Northern Alliance struggled to control the city.

The liberation of the city of Mazar-eSharif in northern Afghanistan on Nov. 10, 2001, marked the first major military victory of Operation Enduring Freedom and boosted the confidence of the Northern Alliance.

Their testimonies about the events in Mazar-i Sharif from August 8 through early September are consistent in the depiction of the patterns of attack by the advancing Taliban troops, the systematic nature of the search operations, the sorting of prisoners at the jail, and the transport of prisoners.

The incident, which occurred in Mazar-i Sharif, a city in northern Afghanistan, represents one of the single worst examples of civilian killings in Afghanistan's twenty-year war where At least 8000 Hazaras were singled out and massacred by the Taliban regime.

The refugees from Mazar-i Sharif are scattered throughout Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Mazar-eSharif has also been the scene of heavy fighting for several weeks because it is home to northern Afghanistan's largest airfield.

Northern Alliance officials also said their fighters were moving into the region between Mazar-eSharif and the border with Uzbekistan, an important stretch of land because that could open supply routes from Uzbekistan to northern Afghanistan for both military and humanitarian aid.

Taking Mazar-eSharif, which is at a strategic crossroads in northern Afghanistan, is key to taking more territory, said Moslih.

The fall of Mazar-eSharif may persuade Afghan warlords, who have a long history of switching to the winning side, to foresee the war's outcome and actively throw their support behind the Northern Alliance and fellow opposition forces.

Situated about 100 miles from the Uzbekistan border, Mazar-eSharif is hardly a central city in Afghanistan, nor is it the country's most populated or industrialized.

In the United States, the capture of Mazar-eSharif may quell domestic concerns of a perceived lack of progress on the military front.

Mazar-eSharif is the largest city in northern Afghanistan, the hub for supply routes across the north and a link to neighboring Uzbekistan, where U.S. troops are stationed during the military campaign against the Taliban.

If the alliance were to recapture Mazar-eSharif, it would be a significant reversal of fortunes for the coalition of ethnic groups and political parties opposed to the Taliban, the hard-line Islamic movement accused of harboring terrorism suspect Osama bin Laden.

The Taliban's murder of 11 Iranian diplomats and a journalist in Mazar-eSharif nearly led to war between Iran, an opponent of the Taliban, and Pakistan, the chief supporter, which had guaranteed the safety of the diplomats.

The strategic town of Mazar-eSharif is particularly vulnerable as it has a bloody history of tribal warfare.

CNN has not been able to independently confirm this information, but Western officials who have daily contact with personnel in Mazar-eSharif say that the majority of those killed are Pakistani and Kashmiri fighters as well as family members of Chechen fighters who have sided with the Taliban forces in Afghanistan.

Dostum, an ethnic Uzbek, ruled Mazar-eSharif for 10 years, and the city's population is made of up ethnic Uzbeks, Tajiks and Hazaras.

Mazar-eSharif, a city dominated by ethnic Uzbeks and Tajiks, was one of the last holdouts against the Taliban.

MAZAR-ESHARIF, Afghanistan -- "Looking at the audience, I see that you are all Kandaharis," the singer said into the microphone as he surveyed a sea of heads sporting the sparkly caps and long-tailed turbans common to that southern city.

A large, fenced-off outdoor nook in the Mazar-eSharif shrine's western wall, the Chila Khana -- or House of Forty -- is reserved for the most seriously ill and disabled of worshipers.

CNN has not been able to independently confirm this information, but Western officials who have daily contact with personnel in Mazar-eSharif say that the majority of those killed are Pakistani and Kashmiri fighters as well as family members of Chechen fighters who have sided with the Taliban forces in Afghanistan.

The strategic town of Mazar-eSharif is particularly vulnerable as it has a bloody history of tribal warfare.

Dostum, an ethnic Uzbek, ruled Mazar-eSharif for 10 years, and the city's population is made of up ethnic Uzbeks, Tajiks and Hazaras.

Human Rights Watch cautioned that a violent end to Taliban rule in Mazar-i Sharif could pave the way for retaliation by UF forces against local Pashtun civilians and others perceived to be associated with Taliban rule.

Mazar-i Sharif, the largest city in northern Afghanistan, has an ethnically-mixed population.

In May 1997, United Front forces under the command of Gen. Abdul Malik Pahlawan killed an estimated 3,000 Taliban prisoners in Mazar-i Sharif, taking some to the desert to be shot and throwing others down wells and blowing them up with grenades.

In this neighborhood is concentrated most of the Afghan army north of the Hindu Kush mountains, the fortified cantonment of Dehdadi having been completed by Sirdar Ghulam All Khan and incorporated with Mazar.

The collapse of the ethnic Pushtun Taliban in the minority-dominated north began on 9 November with the UF seizure of Mazar-eSharif, the lynchpin of the Taliban hold on the north.

The surprise fall of the Afghan city of Mazar-eSharif and the dramatic domino-like collapse of other Taliban-held towns in the north, including Taloqan, has fundamentally altered the balance of power in the country and may mark the beginning of the end of Taliban military power.

According to senior UF sources some 5,000 Taliban and allied forces are believed to have abandoned Mazar and Heiratan, leaving behind them all their armour and heavy weapons.

It is alleged that the later perpetrated atrocities on Taliban prisoners and it is an established fact that the Taliban massacred Hazaras and Uzbeks when they conquered Mazar-I Sharif in 1998 (they also destroyed villages and orchards in the area).

Mazar draws in large crowds for Newroz, yet, hotels were not full (most visitors stay with friends and family).

Dostum, who lost Mazar-eSharif in August 1998 after a reign that was often oppressive, joined with former rivals within the Northern Alliance today in agreeing to remove military rule over the city.

People contacted in Mazar-eSharif by telephone suggested that many greeted with relief the end of the rule of the Taliban, whose interpretation of Islamic law forced women to wear veils and dictated that they not work.

The agreement was a sharp departure from their past bitter competition, indicating a determined effort on the part of the Northern Alliance to end the fractious infighting that had undermined its efforts to unify the country.

Mazar-eSharif has also been the scene of heavy fighting for several weeks because it is home to northern Afghanistan's largest airfield.

Northern Alliance officials also said their fighters were moving into the region between Mazar-eSharif and the border with Uzbekistan, an important stretch of land because that could open supply routes from Uzbekistan to northern Afghanistan for both military and humanitarian aid.

Taking Mazar-eSharif, which is at a strategic crossroads in northern Afghanistan, is key to taking more territory, said Moslih.

The radio station in Mazar-eSharif lost no time in switching sides after the Afghan opposition took the city from the Taleban.

US psychological operations (Psy-ops) radio also broadcast a message congratulating the people of Mazar-eSharif on their liberation from the Taleban.

Earlier, the radio had broadcast a message from General Abdur Rashid Dostum, the ethnic Uzbek commander spearheading the anti-Taleban campaign in northern Afghanistan, seeking to reassure the people of Mazar-eSharif that they need have no fears for their safety.

In Mazar-eSharif, for the first time since 1999, Afghan women shed their burqas, took to the streets, and attended the central mosque to pray.

Abdurrashid Dostum, the Northern Alliance general leading the effort in Mazar-eSharif, even broadcast via radio, “Women in Afghanistan have the same rights as women of other countries” and commented on his surprise at the sheer number women on the streets.

WFP spokeswoman, Lindsey Davies cautioned that the situation in Mazar-eSharif “remains volatile” as there have been reports of some lingering violence in the area.

On 23 November, the UN issued a statement saying that the situation in Mazar-eSharif was "fragile, but improving"; more recently, however, it said conditions had worsened due to the breakdown in law and order at the weekend.

ICRC has 36 international staff working in Mazar-eSharif, the capital Kabul, the western province of Herat, Taloqan in the north, the northeastern city of Faizabad (Feyzabad) and the eastern city of Jalalabad.

ICRC is continuing to send aid into Mazar-eSharif, the most recent being a 59-truck convoy carrying 1,500 mt of food for distribution.

According to Afghan officials, the police in Mazar-eSharif are currently divided between the Tajik-dominated JE, the Uzbek-dominated JME and the and the Hazara-dominated HWE, a state of affairs which has led to calls for a neutral national police to take charge of the city.

"On Tuesday, all suspensions on UN road missions from Mazar-eSharif on roads going west to Sheberghan were lifted," the spokesman said, noting that verification of the situation in villages of Asya-ye Sharaf, Sara-ye-Asya and Shakazin in Chemtal District were still ongoing.

The United Nations in Kabul reported that conditions around Mazar-eSharif had improved significantly and there was normal civilian traffic in the former troubled areas.